Facial vein

Vein: Facial vein
Veins of the head and neck. (Anterior facial labeled at right center, at cheek, to right of masseter.)
Dissection, showing salivary glands of right side. (Anterior facial vein labeled at bottom right.)
Latin	vena facialis anterior
Gray's	subject #167 645
Source	angular vein
Drains to	internal jugular vein
Artery	facial artery

The anterior facial vein (facial vein) commences at the side of the root of the nose and is a direct continuation of the angular vein where it also receives a small nasal branch. It lies behind the facial artery and follows a less tortuous course. It receives blood from the external palatine vein before it either joins the anterior branch of the retromandibular vein to form the common facial vein, or drains directly into the internal jugular vein.

Path

From its origin it runs obliquely downward and backward, beneath the Zygomaticus and zygomatic head of the Quadratus labii superioris, descends along the anterior border and then on the superficial surface of the Masseter, crosses over the body of the mandible, and passes obliquely backward, beneath the Platysma and cervical fascia, superficial to the submandibular gland, the Digastricus and Stylohyoideus.

A common misconception states that the facial vein has no valves, but this has been contradicted by recent studies.

Its walls are not so flaccid as most superficial veins.

Additional images

• 

  Bloodvessels of the eyelids, front view.

• 

  Lateral head anatomy detail

• 

  Head anatomy anterior view

• 

  Facial vein

• 

  Facial vein

External links

• facial+vein at eMedicine Dictionary
• lesson4 at The Anatomy Lesson by Wesley Norman (Georgetown University) (parotid2)
• http://www.dartmouth.edu/~humananatomy/figures/chapter_47/47-5.HTM

This article incorporates text from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy.